# Eliseo Reyes Rodríguez

**Date of birth:** April 27, 1940

**Date of death:** April 25, 1967

**Categories:** Society, military

He was a young man who knew how to answer the call of his homeland. Firm and valiant, faithful and resolute when circumstances demanded it. An example of revolutionary combativeness for new generations of Cubans and Latin Americans in general.

He was born at the Santa Isabel farm, in the Chamarrote neighborhood, in San Luis, present-day Santiago de Cuba.

Eliseo's childhood, like that of every peasant child, unfolded with restrictions and limitations, although he always had the support of his siblings and the affection of his parents. He had to work from a very young age and make double efforts to overcome his studies, as he was known to be intelligent and driven by a desire for self-improvement.

He had completed his primary education in the area where he lived, but when he tried to continue at a technical education center that existed in Santiago de Cuba, the only one for the entire former province of Oriente, despite obtaining high marks on the entrance exams he took, he was unable to obtain enrollment, since he lacked the recommendation and support of some politician, which forced him to continue that existence without prospects, but he did not become discouraged.

In 1953, at only 13 years old, he learned of the clandestine activities of the 26th of July Movement and was drawn toward Armed Struggle for the Cuban Revolution. In 1957 he joined as a messenger in Column 4 of the Cuban Rebel Army.

The path he undertook led him to the camp of Commander Ernesto Guevara (Che), in the vicinity of Hombrito, who upon seeing him, almost a child, doubted whether he could withstand the rigors of the struggle. It was his tenacity, seriousness, and discipline that led him to take on very necessary tasks, first as a messenger and other important missions, until becoming a front-line soldier, respected by all.

His comrades-in-arms christened him with the name of his native homeland, and from that moment on, he was known to everyone as San Luis. He was 17 years old at that time.

In this way, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro's order surprised him to create an invasion column led by Che to operate in the former province of Las Villas and to be selected to participate in it. The journey, the pursuit, and the battles were difficult until they finally arrived at the assigned territory in October 1958.

In the Las Villas Campaign he stood out for his courage in the most risky actions commanding a platoon, until he was definitively surprised by the revolutionary triumph of 1959 with the rank of captain.

With the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, he was at the helm of the MININT (Ministry of the Interior) in Pinar del Río, in the struggle against internal counterrevolution in this zone. His merits led to his being chosen for the First Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba.

At the end of 1966, Che Guevara selected him for the reinforcement detachment that would fight in the jungles of Bolivia. Shortly thereafter, Che himself qualified him as "the most complete cadre, both politically and militarily, of all the components of the guerrilla." He marched with Che toward Bolivia, in the internationalist guerrilla, under the name of "Rolando." This time, a sister nation would know of his valor and dedication, as part of the central group and serving as political commissar, appointed by Che.

Eliseo Reyes died in combat on April 25, 1967 during an ambush carried out by the guerrilla at the El Mesón farm, between Ticucha and the Iquira River, two days before turning 27 years old.

After his death, Che would write in his diary: "We have lost the best man of the guerrilla, and naturally, one of its pillars. My comrade since, being almost a child, he was a messenger of column 4, through the invasion and this new revolutionary adventure. Of his obscure death, only this can be said, for a hypothetical future that might materialize: Your small cadaver of valiant captain has extended in the immense its metallic form."